Lawsuit Filed Against City Councilman
Art Shad Accused Of Punching Man
911: Jacksonville 911, Reed.That call came from the San Marco park, where the incident took place.However, Shad also made a 911 call. The councilman talked to an emergency operator when he got home:
Kelly: Yes, I just had someone hit me in the mouth in the park.
911: Do you know who this person is?
Kelly: I've been told that his name is councilman Art Shad?
911: He just walked up and popped you in the face or what?
Kelly: Well, I was trying to catch my dog. He was running through the park and the dog was running with him and I turned to get it and he hit me in the nose and said there's a leash law in this town, so. 911: You're OK. You don't need rescue sir?
Kelly: I haven't even seen my lip yet.
911: Jacksonville 911, Davis.While Shad never denied hitting Kelly, he said the altercation with Kelly happened out of fear after being attacked by the dog.In the lawsuit, Kelly asks for a jury trial. The lawsuit states that Shad was, "acting in a strange and peculiar manner, battered the plaintiff by striking him in a harmful or offensive manner." It goes on to say, "Shad committed this act to cause the harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff … and as a result Kelly sustained bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expenses of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment."Shad told Channel 4 that he was not surprised by the lawsuit filed by Kelly because his attorney and Kelly's attorney have been meeting for quite a while.The councilman said Kelly is after one thing -- money."It was an unfortunate event all around. I was attacked by the dog not once, but twice. Three days after it happened he asked for $75,000 before knowing what his bills were. This is a money-making venture, and he's using the fact that I'm a public figure to leverage this," Shad said.He said that by filing the lawsuit Kelly is looking for media attention."I thought, was it worth it to pay $75,000 to keep it out of the paper?" Shad said.Neither Kelly nor his attorney was available on Wednesday to comment about the lawsuit.
Shad: Yes, I had an incident with a dog that I need to report.
911: What kind of incident with a dog sir?
Shad: Just … I was jogging through a park and a dog attacked me, and the owner and I got into a shoving match after that and I just got back to the house and I thought it was worthy of a report.
911: Did the dog bite you?
Shad: Yes, it bit me a couple of times. Um, it didn't break the skin. I don't need treatment of any kind, but it was a pretty aggressive dog.
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